After Law

In this work of political philosophy, author Laurent De Sutter undertakes an analysis of the ways in which the concept of law both came into being and evolved into its current forms. It is hard for us to imagine a world without law because since the time of Plato and Socrates, Western culture has been rigidily ruled by its exigencies: for Socrates it was such a powerful necessity that he famously took his own life because the polity determined he had violated their laws. Through an historical exploration of the concept of law that traverses the globe and a myriad of cultures, Laurent De Sutter poses the question, what would a world without law, or after law look like? Why is it that we came to consider law a defining feature of civilization? And what other possibilities exist for human cohabitation beyond its formidable constraints?